Page 85 of Shifting Winds
I grinned at the imagery. “You’re the best person for the job, then.”
“Yes, I suppose I am. No good politician wants the job. But Caelan is better at the long game than the rest of us. He sees in you a genuine partner, someone who will love him and help him rule. If your distaste for power is stronger than your love for him, then you know what you have to do.”
“What’s your opinion?”
“I think you’re being weak on purpose.”
“Rowan!”
“I’m serious.”
“I don’t think I want you to snuggle with me anymore.”
“Liar. This is the best snuggle session of your life.”
I made a disgusted noise but made no move to get up because he was right. This was the best non-sexual snuggle session I’d ever had. “I do love him,” I said softly.
“I know.” He stroked a powerful hand through my hair. “It sucks that our parents and events in our lives can fuck us up so bad. He’s shown you how he feels. Maybe it’s time for you to do the same. If you don’t come to him eventually—if Caelan can’t see a light at the end—it may kill him, but he will walk away.”
“Dammit,” I muttered. “I’m not any good at this.”
“You don’t have to be. It’s Caelan. I’ve known the man most of my life. Show up at the Keep in a trench coat, drop it when you see him, and tell him you love him. Bing bam boom, you’re pregnant.”
“You’re such an ass,” I said with a laugh.
“You know you love me. Set your coffee down and take a nap with me.”
“It’s six a.m.!”
“Yes,” Rowan agreed. “It’s the perfect time for a morning nap.”
Chapter
Twenty-Six
Isank my fingers into the ground, seeking the heart of Mother Earth. My magic responded faster than ever, a heat-seeking missile headed straight for the core of the world. Her presence surrounded me, and I sank down into my meditation, allowing the earth’s power to ease my aches and pains, and wipe my mind of worry.
It’d been far too long since I communed with nature of my own free will. The last time I’d been close to death and was forced to. This time, I wanted to pay homage to her, thank her for my power, and check over my land.
Once I finished here, I needed to shift. My Chimera power had been suppressed for too long, and I was getting itchy under the collar. After the last shift where I’d gone into what was apparently the legendary Chimera form—whatever the hell that meant—I could feel the urge scratching at me to shift almost every day. But there were other things I was neglecting with this power, and I knew I had to master them if I had any hope of protecting myself against my mother or other threats that might arise when people realized who I was and exactly how I was related to Cernunnos.
Once that happened, I’d be a target for every fae gunning for the position, no matter that I was a blood relation.
I released a breath and wiped my mind of everything but the feeling of the earth’s gentleness brushing across my skin.
Two hours later, I opened my eyes. Winter had come to town, or as much as we ever received winter. Joy Springs was its own little place, and when things got too hot or too cold, there were a number of folks who could fix that right up for us. They didn’t do it all the time, but I couldn’t remember a day when it stayed over a hundred during the summer. Winter was a little more flexible because it was rarely dangerous. This evening was chilly, the temps having dropped into the low forties. But even with winter’s kiss upon our brows, it couldn’t stop my Floromancy power.
The ground bloomed with wildflowers, a vivid and startling array of color surrounding me as far as the eye could see.
It had happened before, but never during the colder months. Yet another thing to chalk up to my genetic weirdness, but since wildflowers were harmless and no one but me would see them, I didn’t worry too much.
I rose and stretched, sending a tendril of power out to double check I’d touched every piece of my land. A brush of contentment curled over my senses, the land sleepy and sated.
Good. With a bare thought, I shifted into a falcon, rising high into the air. The avian form was my favorite so far. My fae form was a wren, and I loved it, but the falcon could fly far longer. I could feel the power stretching my wings wide, the cool wind sliding underneath my wings. I opened my beak and let out a harsh cry, banking left and sailing through the air.
A dark form came at me from the right, quick and agile. I rose into the air and slowed down, allowing Poe to catch up with me.
I couldn’t speak in this form, but Poe was happy to explore with me for a while.
